The Secrets Held By Roses
by Regularamanda
Summary: Every year on Valentines Day, Jack gives Sam a rose to tell her all the things he can't speak out loud. Sam and Jack.
1. Yellow Friendship

_Author's Note- So it seems my muse has no clue what time of the year it is. These are very very short and are pretty much fluff…though there may be angst in the later ones! Enjoy!_

**Set near the end of Season 1**

**Yellow- Friendship  
**

Samantha Carter hated this holiday. Valentines Day. The one day out of the year that she wanted to stay curled up in bed and sleep the day away. Somehow this day managed to depress every woman that was single in the world. And really why did people think if you didn't have a man in your life, that you were somehow defective and incapable of lasting in a relationship. Maybe the person just hadn't found the right one yet.

Sam sighed as she walked back to her lab. She had really hoped that she'd be off world today, it was so her luck that she wasn't. Her plan was to get as much work as possible done and then drown herself in blue Jell-O.

She walked into her lab but stopped in her tracks when she saw what was laying on her desk. It was a single perfect yellow rose. She tenderly picked it up and stroked the silky petals.

A small note was attacked to it. _Thank you for your friendship_ it read. She looked at confusion at the note. Who could it be from…and on Valentines Day?

Her first thought was Daniel. He of all people would know that a yellow rose meant friendship…but it didn't make any sense. He didn't even seem the type that would give her a rose.

"Secret admirer Carter?" A voice said from her doorway.

Her head shot up at the unexpected person leaning against the frame of her door. "Oh…sorry sir I didn't see you there." She said embarrassed to be caught with the flower in her hand.

She quickly put it on her desk and Jack walked up to her.

"So…who's it from?" He questioned.

Sam shifted uncomfortably. "Well to be perfectly honest I'm not sure sir."

"You're not sure…what does the note say?" Jack said his gaze on the flower.

She handed him the note and he read it over.

"Well there's no name, maybe it's from Teal'c?" He said brightly.

Sam coughed. "Somehow I can't see Teal'c giving a woman a rose."

"Yes you're right. That would probably clash with his warrior image that he has going on." Jack said.

"Probably." She said laughing.

"Well maybe it's from Daniel." He said after a moment of thinking.

"Daniel is in love with Sha're, he wouldn't give someone a rose either."

"I guess I can't help you Carter." Jack said as he started to head to her door. "Have fun trying to figure it out, I'm sure there's a lot of men on this base that want to give a lovely lady like yourself flowers."

Sam bit her lip. It couldn't be…the Colonel wouldn't really send her flowers…would he?

"Sir…did you give it to me?" She asked him as he was about to walk out the door.

Jack turned around and grinned at her, his eyes dancing with mischief. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He said as he walked out her door.

Sam laughed and picked up the rose once more, knowing full well who the man was who left it for her.

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_Author's Note- Thanks for reading and let me know if you like it! There is going to be eight chapters in all._


	2. Orange Fascination

_Author's Note- This is set near the end of Season 2. _

**Orange- Fascination  
**

Sam couldn't help the small lift in her step as she walked to her lab in the morning. It was Valentines Day. And normally she hated this day, but after last year and finding the beautiful flower on her desk from Colonel O'Neill she couldn't help but hope that maybe she would have another one this year as well.

She knew she was silly and it was more than likely a one time thing. But that didn't stop her heart from speeding up as she neared her lab. She took a deep breath and walked in.

She wasn't disappointed.

There on her desk lay another beautiful rose, only this time it was orange. Sam grinned and picked up the perfect flower and read the note. _You're fascinated by everything…and I'm fascinated by you. _

Sam blushed at the note but she couldn't keep the grin of her face. In the back of her mind she realized that maybe it wasn't the best thing in the world for the Colonel to be leaving her flowers and notes in her lab. There were after all regulations in place, and giving flowers to your second in command on Valentines Day could possibly be violating those regulations.

But if she was honest with herself, she really didn't care. It was one day out of the year…and it wasn't like the roses were saying anything bad…per say. She was…fascinated by the Colonel as well. Sam twirled the flower over in her hand, drinking in the beauty and softness of it.

"Hey Sam could you help me with…oh." Daniel said as he walked in.

Sam jumped and quickly laid the flower back on the table.

Daniels eye brows came together in confusion as he looked at the flower. "Someone left you a rose? Who's it from?" He asked.

She swallowed. She couldn't honestly tell him it was from the Colonel…and she was pretty sure he didn't want anyone to know either.

"Oh…well…I'm not really sure." Sam said lying.

"Maybe someone likes you." He said brightly.

"I…I don't know." She said embarrassed. The Colonel didn't see her like that…he couldn't see her like that.

"You know in some ancient cultures they believed that flowers could heal people and had power over emotions. And even today's culture people give flowers everyday knowing the meaning of them." Daniel said.

So the Colonel actually took the time out to pick a flower out for her and took the time to find the meaning of it? Sam was slightly confused. Why would he do something like that anyway?

"A lot can be said with just a simple flower. You know the only person I could thing would give you a flower would be Jack."

Sam's eyes flew to his. How had he guessed that?

Daniel's eyes once again returned to the flower. "But he doesn't seem like the type that would do something like that…although he does seem to like flirting with you a lot." He said brightly.

"We don't…he doesn't…" Sam said at a lose for words. They didn't flirt with each other…much.

"It must be someone else, it just can't be him…well Sam good luck trying to find out who it is." Daniel called over his shoulder as he walked out the door.

"Bye Daniel." She called out with a laugh. As her gaze once more fell on the rose she finally realized that maybe Valentines Day wasn't so bad after all.

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_Author's Note- Thanks for reading and let me know if you liked it! Also the note that he writes says what the color means...but in case people are wondering orange means 'Fascination'. I'll make sure next time to inclue what each of the colors of flowers specifically means in the title of each chapter. Sorry for any confusion!  
_


	3. Deep Pink Thank You

**Set near the end of Season 3**

**Deep Pink- Thank You**

Sam, with a cup of blue Jell-O in hand, walked to her lab. Valentines Day had come and gone and no flower had been sitting on her desk.

Not that she expected one to be, after all the man who had previously given her the roses had been trapped on another world for 100 days. And Sam had barely even known during that time what the day was.

Her only focus during that time was to try her best to get her CO home. To get her friend home. To get the man she loved home. The feelings that she had in her heart had slipped in unawares. Sometime during the past few years he had become so much more to her then just her CO.

She had been so happy when they had found a way to bring him home. And it had hurt, hurt a lot more than she'd ever admit that he had just walked by her when they had been on the planet.

She had put so much time and energy into getting him home and then she had wondered if maybe he didn't want to come home after all. Maybe he would have liked it there. Those doubts had only increased when he had said that he was retiring on that planet. Her heart had felt like it had crumbled into a thousand tiny pieces that day. And though it had only been a ruse used to catch a rouge group that had been stealing technology from Earths allies, the hurt was still there all the same.

Sighing she walked into her lab and there, once more, was a flower. She swallowed nervously and picked up the deep pink rose. _Thank you for finding a way to bring me home. You never gave up and for that I will always be grateful. You are the best second in command that any officer could have, never forget that. _

Nears pricked the back of her eyes that she held them at bay. She was not going to cry over a rose. She was stronger then that. But she also knew that she had been through a lot the past few weeks and everyone had a breaking point, including her.

She set the rose aside and laid her head in her hands, leaning her elbows against the desk. She sighed deeply.

The sound of a soft knock at her door caused her to lift her head.

"Hey Sam can I come in?" The Doctor said.

"Sure Janet." Sam said nodding her head vigorously.

Janet stopped when she saw the rose laying on the desk and she looked in confusion at Sam. "Can I…" she asked gesturing to the note.

"Yeah." Sam said with a nod of her head.

Janet picked up the note and after reading it she set it back down and sighed.

"God Sam I hate to ask this of you…but is there something going on between…"

Sam interrupted immediately. "God! No there's not a thing going on between us."

Janet looked her in the eyes. "You care about him." She said softly.

"Yes." Sam whispered. After a moment she added "But I care about Daniel and Teal'c as well." Sam looked up at Janet and saw compassion in her eyes.

"But not like that." She said.

Sam slightly shook her head for a no.

"As your friend Sam…is this going to interfere with your job?"

"No…he doesn't know anything…nothing is going to come of it." Sam said sadly.

"I know you don't need to be reminded of this…but you're not supposed to have those sort of feelings for him." Janet said.

"I know Janet. I'm not even sure when it happened, I just couldn't help it." Sam bit her lip knowing that wasn't an excuse. Her whole career could be over if someone found out, if someone told General Hammond. Her reputation would be tarnished as well as Jack's and SG-1 one would be split up. But under no circumstances would she allow that to happen. She knew what her duty was. To tuck away what she felt for him and make sure that she never ever let it show.

"I was concerned about you when you we were trying to get to him. Not only as your friend but your Doctor as well. You should have got more sleep…ate more…you worked day and night Sam. The human body just cannot take that"

Sam knew that she had lost weight, that she barely gotten enough sleep. And she had known that Janet was concerned about her. She smiled softly at her friend. "I know Janet…can we just move on."

Janet sighed. "Yes we can…just…be careful."

"I will." Sam said smiling at her.

"Alright…and don't forget your physical tomorrow." Janet said with a laugh as she walked out the door.

Sam smiled at the empty room and her gaze fell on the rose once more.

For all of Janet's concerns and all of her own concerns as well, Sam was certain that what she felt was one sided. Jack might leave her pretty flowers on Valentines Day but that's where it ended on his part. And with that thought in mind, suddenly the rose seemed just a tad bit less beautiful, knowing that it had come from a man who wasn't in love with her.

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_Author's Note- Yup some angst just had to get thrown in there. I firmly believe that Janet knew something during the episode '100 days'. Also as a side note some roses have multiple meanings, so I pretty much am picking the meanings of the roses that best fit the chapter. Thanks for reading and if you liked it let me know!_


	4. Red Love

**Set near the end of Season 4**

**Red- Love**

Sam sat in her lab, once more Valentines Day had come and she was alone. And here she was, pulling an all nighter.

As she sipped her coffee her mind went back through all that had happened in the past year. Everything that had gone so wrong.

The Za'tarc testing. Thera and Jonah. The entity incident.

And how she finally knew that the feelings she felt weren't just one sided. She knew he wasn't supposed to care for her, and was well aware of what could happen if those feelings had gotten in the way of the job. If he hadn't been able to pull the trigger that day, it undoubtedly would have lead to a court martial.

But since that day she had felt the Colonel pull away from her. He didn't ask her to lunch as much anymore, didn't flirt with her. Didn't come to her lab as much to play with her doohickeys.

Logic told her that it was a good thing. They needed their distance and it was for the best.

Her heart told her something else entirely.

Sam sighed and glanced back down at the papers she was working on and she once again got lost in her work.

A few minutes later the sound of foot falls startled her out of her reading. She looked up right as Jack walked in the door.

"Ah! Carter…I didn't expect to find you in here." Jack said awkwardly.

"It is my lab sir." She said grinning at him.

"So true." Jack said.

Sam bit her lip waiting for him to say something. After a few moments of awkward silence she cleared her throat and said "Need something Colonel."

"No…not really…I just…I thought I'd drop this…off." Jack said as he pulled his hand out from behind his back and presented her the rose.

This time her eyes weren't focused on its beauty but rather on the color.

Red.

Love.

The universal symbol of 'I love you'.

Sam swallowed against the emotions in her throat and took the rose from his hand.

_For all those things we left locked in that room. For those words that I can't say out loud, read between the lines._ The note read.

"Thanks…sir." She said awkwardly.

"Yeah sure ya betcha" Jack said as he turned to leave.

"Sir…wait." She said suddenly.

They needed to talk.

Jack turned back around and lifted his eyebrow at her.

"Sir…about shooting me twice…I know you had to do it sir…I don't blame you. If you hadn't pulled that trigger we'd both have gotten a court martial. You made the right choice."

Jack stared at her for a few seconds before running a hand through his short salt and pepper hair.

"God…it shouldn't have come to that…it doesn't excuse it…I almost killed the woman I…" He trailed off at his last thought.

He shifted uncomfortably and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

There was that fine line that they could never cross, because once those words were said there was no going back for either of them.

Sam swallowed before continuing. "Sir…I need my friend back." She said softly.

Her eyes collided with his. "Okay." He said as he sat down across the lab table from her.

"But Carter…there's always someday…it won't be like this forever." Jack told her softly.

And she believed him. Someday things would change, and they wouldn't be CO and 2IC.

And then they'd have forever.

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_Author's Note- Sorry for the long delay in this chapter. I've been so insanely busy that past few weeks. Thanks for reading and if you liked it let me know!_


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